>= Three tips for Noisebridge wiki beginners =
>== 1. Make your user page ==
Make a user page for yourself here on the Noisebridge wiki, if you register, it is automatically watched. You don't have to register with the Noisebridge wiki to make your user page, but you will have to register to watch pages (make sure to confirm your email address if you want to do this.)

2. Watch Recent changes and adopt an affinity page

If you did register, adopt a second page to watch on a subject that interests you, and note that you are also taking care of it in the discussion page (I think we could use the discussion pages more efficiently in general).

3. Practice simplest markup instead of chatting on IRC or watching TV

Play around with the following 3 basic Mediawiki markups and preview the page you are editing:
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How to create a new page when editing and adding an internal link

you may be editing a page, adding some information in the editing pane, and you want to make a link to a new page.

in your text, write the name of the new page.

highlight the name of the new page where it appears in your text.

choose the Internal Link button above the editing pane.

you should see ... double square brackets now surround the name of your new page.
note that your new page does not yet exist. how to create the new page?

scroll down to see the Save page, Show preview, and Show changes buttons.

click the Show preview button.

the system presents an editing pane for the new page with a caution that if you got this page by mistake, use the back arrow.

enter something, anything, in the editing pane to create the new page.

scroll down and click the Show preview button. if things appear as you like,

click the Save page button to save the new page.

use the back arrow button to return the Show preview page that you'd first been editing.,

if all is well, click the Save page button to save your edits.

Watching Changes

"The site is so large, how do I tell what has changed since I last visited the site?"

Use the Recent Changes button in the nav bar on the left. 'Diffs' are powerful! Click around a bit and you'll get the hang of it. You'll be able to see exactly what each person changed on a page and when!

If you log in and then "Watch" a page (a button at the top of the page), you can receive an email when that page changes.

Subscribe to the Recent Changes RSS feed in your favorite news reader. So then when you're catching up on your friend's blog entries, you'll also find exciting things like my update of the Maker Faire page and... hey, JDV just (like 10 seconds ago!) made a note of his Birthday Party happening at the Shipyard! Yay JDV! How do I subscribe? Go to the Recent Changes page and click on the "RSS" link on the left nav bar. Your news reader should be able to take it from there.

"How do I tell what has changed on a particular page recently?"

To see the history of changes on a particular page, first go to the page, then click the "history" button at the top of the screen. You'll be able to see every change made by every person going back for a long while. Click around a little and you'll get the hang of this very useful page.